New Findings About Donald Trump Show How Voters Are Reacting

Trump leads the GOP field with 39% support, according to the poll.

Rubio, meanwhile, may remain the media darling, but this is the third major poll since last week’s debate that shows the Florida senator’s support going down, not up, following similar shifts in the Fox and Quinnipiac surveys.

Bush and the rest of the Republican candidates are running against a man who has broken every rule in the book and has managed to get away with it. While Bush is spending more than 32 million dollars to get any publicity or traction, Trump has spent only a fraction of that and is still leading in the polls by double digits.

In a hypothetical matchup with Hillary Clinton, Cruz fared the best, pulling even with the Democratic front-runner, with both getting 44%. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie registered 6 percent, his highest level of support in a telephone poll since late May. That consolidation is reflected in voters’ overall preferences. But in most polls, Trump’s national lead has stretched to new heights, with some recent surveys showing that more than 40% of Republican voters would support him today.

His strength in the survey is based largely on Republican voters’ belief that he is best suited to handle the top issues facing the US. More generally, 74 percent of Republican voters also like the idea that Trump “says the things he says”.

Donald Trump’s bombast and bravado is too much for many Americans. That is a departure from not only Christie’s campaigning strategy but also that of former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and Ohio Governor John Kasich who are both working the Granite State’s town hall circuit. Hypothetically, should two or three of these candidate drop out and perhaps even endorse one of the others, it might allow more moderate, establishment republican voters to coalesce behind one anti-Trump candidate. What exactly are those rules and how do they play out in a possible match-up of Donald Trump against a Hillary in the general election next November? In a three-man race in New Hampshire, Rubio leaps over Cruz into a statistical tie with Trump – and with Cruz at 26 points. It’s up 22 points since September, at 45 percent, the highest favorability rating of any of the Republican candidates.

“The difference between me and the others is what I say, I will do exactly what I say”, he said. Texas Senator Ted Cruz is just four points behind Trump with 24 percent support.

Digging into the poll, there’s more good news for Trump/bad news for Trump haters.

After the holidays, Bush will spend most of his time campaigning in New Hampshire, the state considered most critical to his chances, along with two campaign stops in Iowa in January, according to a campaign aide. No other candidate received more than 5%. After Christie, nobody is averaging above 3%.

This CNN/ORC poll may be the last poll of the race for the GOP nomination before the end of the year.

Clinton could see closer calls against the pair, as well.

Bush remains stranded at the back of the GOP pack, polling at around 4 percent nationally and little better in the early states of Iowa and New Hampshire.